The Smoke Free Workplace and Public Place Ordinance ( No 4290) that was passed by the Grand Forks City Council on April 5th, will take effect on August 15th as intended.  In an attempt to refer this ordinance, area bar owners have been collecting signatures on petitions for the last 30 days.  Although they only needed 3805, their original goal was 6000 to allow for duplicate or invalid signatures. Breaking news yesterday on the gfherald.com website indicated that the bar owners were still about 1800 short of the required number, putting them nearly 3000 short of their original goal.

This truly proves that the citizens of Grand Forks were ready for this policy. Smoke free environments are becoming the national norm and Grand Forks recognizes that.  Get ready, because on August 15th, we’re clearing the air…